


Local Legend

by Eightpoundsofhair



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe- Human, Alternate Universe- Vampires, F/F, Mild Gore, Not actually lapidot, but you know, mild violence, spooky spooky
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-31
Updated: 2018-10-31
Packaged: 2019-08-11 16:53:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,949
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16479305
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eightpoundsofhair/pseuds/Eightpoundsofhair
Summary: Peridot's town has an unfortunate rumor. It brings tourists, annoys the elders, and frightens the children. But Peridot is an adult and knows that that's all it is: a myth. So she thinks nothing of the homemade sign at the entrance of the woods stating simply 'vampire'.





	Local Legend

It was completely coincidence that Peridot ended up in the woods that night.

Her dog Pumpkin had gotten out of the backyard while Peridot was eating dinner. It shouldn’t have been a surprise, the little dog had a habit of jumping that Peridot kept conveniently forgetting about whenever Pumpkin was in the mood to frustrate her. Regardless, she found herself wandering down the streets of the tiny town she had taken residence in with merely a flashlight and bag of dog treats on hand.

It was not hard to find the dog. She was a loud, excitable corgi who barked all the way to wherever she was going. Her barks were what had clued Peridot in on her change of location in the first place; a familiar bark had come from the front of her house opposed to the back as it should have. She simply had to listen, follow the sound of loudly crunching leaves under jumping paws and excited yaps a mere block or so ahead of her.

She was not surprised when the noise lead her to the edge of the town where a thick wood cut off one side of the town from all of civilization for many sprawling miles. Pumpkin absolutely loved this area. She frequently would pull Peridot with all her strength on walks to this very spot, attracted to the thousands of smells from the thousands of animals that resided here.

Either way Peridot let out a heavy sigh as she reached the end of the paved road, continuing onwards with a roll of her eyes despite the various signs warning of bears and poisons snakes and a new one that she merely smirked at, clearly handmade on an old piece of wood with bolded red letters stating simply ‘vampire’.

It was a town legend. One that brought tourists, entertained the middle schoolers, and annoyed the elders. They were the first place on earth with a real vampire since Vlad the impaler terrorized Transylvania.

The ‘vampire’ in question was a single recluse who lived in these woods. A woman of undetermined age or name who rarely left the calm emptiness of her home just a mile or so into the otherwise empty woods. On the rare occasion she would leave to enter the town for a small spree of shopping or a trip to the events plaza it became the talk of the town.

She was incredibly rich. No one knew exactly how this had happened, she did not work and she had no known family, it was simply the way things were.

Regardless, the woman’s floor length dresses or tightly tailored tuxes made all ages gossip. The gothic look of the fabric and old fashioned luxury of the styles adding to the vampire rumor. Her pale skin and black lace parasol inspired looks of awe in the adults and caused the children to hide behind the legs of their parents.

Peridot had only seen her once. The tiniest glimpse of her at the grocery store. She had come in, all eyes gravitating towards her, and floated through as if she owned the place. In the end she never bought anything, she simply glided past in heavy sunglasses and a heavier sun hat, smirking at a wide eyed Peridot as she exited.

There was no denying that she was odd. She clearly enjoyed the attention and quite possibly the rumors that floated around about her. She flaunted herself whenever she entered town, walking with the confidence and poise of a queen, merely laughing if ever asked by a small child or cocky teenager about the vampire talk.

But Peridot was no paranoid child. It was a town rumor, nothing more.

She walked on through the forest, calling for Pumpkin as her barks got more distant. She was probably chasing something. A rabbit or a snake most likely. Peridot hoped whatever it was wasn’t deadly.

Until this point she had no need her flashlight, held it only as a form of comfort, but here in the woods it was shockingly dark. The trees, despite having shed most of their leaves at this point in the year, still blocked what little light the nearly full moon gave off. She turned it on, shining it down the small dirt path she followed, just wide enough for the old, lavish cars that pooled in and out to drive down.

The path was littered with leaves, some still bright reds and oranges but others a dingy brown, decomposing in the declining temperature of late October. Peridot found herself tripping over twigs and into pot holes that littered the path. How the woman who lived in the woods managed to drive down this road was a miracle. No wonder she came to town so sparsely. Peridot huffed with annoyance as she stumbled down the road towards the constant barking. She ruffled the bag of treats in her hand, hoping to coax the dog to her.

“Pumpkin!” She called, toying with the bag as loudly as she could, “If you come here now you can have a nice treat and I won’t kill you!”

An enthusiastic bark was sounded in response and a loud clatter of what Peridot assumed was the breaking of a stick.

Yet the dog did not come running. Her barks faded to nothing and in their absence deathly silence took hold almost instantly, Peridot’s crunching footsteps the only tangible sound around her. She felt her heart rate spike, paranoia settled in as the inky blackness of the woods and lack of barking settled in on her.

“Pumpkin?” She asked meekly, worry causing her feet to move faster. What if that loud noise was a bear? What if her baby was stolen away? Eaten?

Peridot felt like she could cry, running down the path with a frantic sense of panic, crying out the dogs name in a teary sound.

Eventually she tripped, twisting her ankle as she stumbled into a pot hole and fell to her face.

She did let out a cry before she could recognize what had happened, shocked by the pain. She sputtered a few gasping sobs, pulling herself up into a sitting position as she rubbed at her ankle which burned with a bright hot pain.

“God damnit,” she forced out, biting her lip as she tried to stop the down fall of tears, a twinge of embarrassment settling in her chest at the childish reaction despite no one being around to witness it.

She forced herself to breathe, shaking off her embarrassment to instead reach for the flashlight which she had dropped as she fell. Now was not the time to sit and cry. She had to find her dog.

Upon shining the narrow stream of light upwards a towering silhouette was revealed to be hulking over her.

Peridot jumped backwards with a startled yell, heart rate spiking dramatically at the unexpected, intimidating sight. She fell awkwardly backwards onto her hands as her limbs began to shake. The flashlight clattered to the ground once more, removing the silhouette from Peridot’s line of vision.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” an effeminate voice as sticky as honey and intoxicating as ambrosia itself spoke.

“I didn’t meant to scare you,” the beautiful voice continued. The tune of it was the most lovely thing Peridot had ever heard and like sirens singing their coaxing song to sailors she found herself drawn to it, her remaining anxieties flowing out of her, “I believe this is yours,” with that the silhouetted leaned down, her face finally lit by the flashlight that Peridot had picked back up to hold in a quivering hand. Upon being revealed by the light Peridot realized that this was the town ‘vampire’ she had seen at the grocery store but this time her face was not hidden behind a sprawling sun hat and sunglasses. Instead her sharp features made themselves apparent in the thin stream of light.

Her nose was a perfect curve trailing the way down to plump lips which were painted a deep blood red. Black hair floated airily around her sculpted chin, framing her face perfectly. But the thing Peridot found herself fixating on was her glittering blue eyes, so dark they almost appeared black. They seemed to look through Peridot and into her very soul, yet the judging stare was somehow not intimidating but welcoming and comforting. Peridot found herself entranced at the sight as the woman continued to bend down. From her arms she released Pumpkin to the ground and the dog pranced over to Peridot, licking her face with a happy bark.

Peridot let out a startled laugh, running a hand over the corgi’s head as she stared up at the woman in the dim light of her flashlight. The mysterious woman merely straightened herself out and dusted off the deep purple breast of her dress.

“I see you’ve hurt yourself,” she said, voice calmingly cool and song-like, “Come with me. I can wrap your ankle for you,”

With that she reached a icy pale hand down. Peridot, shocked and confused and pulled into a daze by the woman’s gorgeous voice grabbed it in her own. It was as cold as it looked.

**

They had not walked for more than a minute before they reached a clearing in the wood, Peridot limping all the way. Yet as they reached the clearing Peridot found herself halting completely with wide eyes and mouth gaping. The woman who had been at her side continued up the driveway without Peridot who stared up at the house in front of her.

It was massive.

Posh street lamps lit the clearing surrounding the house, glowing a fiery yellow onto the garden that surrounded the driveway, making the whole air feel cozy and welcoming. Two heavy maple trees sat proudly on either side the house, so thick in the trunks they must have been hundreds of years old. The way their deep and sprawling patterns of brown trunks and branches majestically reached towards the sky resembled something from a fairytale. Around the stalks of both trees was a garden, dead and withering now in the late fall yet somehow managing to maintain a style of its own as it fell to the ground. The drooping grays and faded greens tumbling into each other, catching the brightly colored leaves that fell from the maples in a perfectly fashioned collage of color.

The driveway was made of heavy cobblestone, varying patterns of grey and black that lead the way up to the towering mansion. The building in question was at minimum three stories high with a towering and triumphant roof that held its shoulders high with deep brown brick. The sprawling walls an only slightly lighter brown stone lined neatly with cascading vines of ivy, tracing the spaces between the sprawling windows covered from the inside with darkly colored curtains. The few windows not completely covered shone a comforting yellow glow towards the outside, flickering hues of oranges and yellows on the outside world as if caused by fire.

It was beautiful.

The woman chuckled modestly at Peridot’s wide eyed reaction, lifting a hand to her face to hide her smile.

“Don’t flatter me,” she chuckled, the soothing nature of her voice flowing over into even her laugh. She walked onwards as she spoke, an excited Pumpkin following her heels closely as she glided up the long drive.

Peridot stood for another moment, shocked still, before she herself laughed in bewilderment, taking a few fumbling steps forward.

“Are you kidding?,” Peridot asked, eyebrows dancing madly with emphasis as she glanced around the front yard, “This place is insane!”

The woman merely hummed, the intoxicating air of her voice becoming somehow even more majestic in the single note tune, “I do hope you mean that kindly. It’s not polite to insult the home of your host,” she smiled through her sing-song tone, turning her head over her shoulder with a wink.

Peridot followed in stunned silence.

**

The inside of the home was as wonderful and luxurious as the outside. The floors were made of a deep wood, a hint of burgundy reflecting off the dark brown where the yellow fire light of crystalline chandeliers danced across the boards. The chandeliers in question floating overhead gracefully, glittering beautifully and catching the eye with their pale blue gem stones.

Two heavy staircases framed the large room, their dark brown steps covered by slips of lush, patterned navy carpeting, leading the way further into the house. Lavish couches sat on ether side of the room near the front door, an elegant blue velvet complemented by circular black pillows. Wide bookshelves stretching as tall as the room would allow them sat just adjacent those posh navy cushions. They were bustling full of books, beautiful in their own regard. Their spines a rainbow of dark and colorful knowledge, thick, heavy, and well loved.

A lavish fireplace was lit in the back of the room, tall and proud with black marble lining its sides, small carvings of naked women and triumphant gods decorating the mantel piece. Above the fireplace a panting hung proudly. Inside was an image of the woman who resided in the home herself. A deep blue dress wrapped around her body tightly as she hugged herself, her wonderful blue eyes shut to highlight the coy closed mouthed smile on her face. Behind her bright orange trees swayed in the breeze, their colors contrasting the wonderful blue of the woman’s dress and makeup.

Similar portraits decorated the walls of the entire room, people and places and animals so gorgeous and old Peridot felt as if she was in a prestigious museum. Their heavy wood frames as stunning as the art inside, curving spirals decorated in choice places with thin highlights of gold.

Peridot was flabbergasted as the woman walked inwards, smiling her smirking smile at Peridot as she turned to look back at her. The light caught her eyes magically, lighting them in a way that brilliantly revealed their true color. The expression was wickedly comforting and Peridot found herself swimming in the intoxicating comfort she found in the other woman’s eyes.

“Like it?” She asked, smile carrying through in her voice as she gestured around her. Walking backwards her heels clicked cooly on the floors, Peridot followed mindlessly, a large smile of her own creeping up onto her face.

“It’s beautiful,” she found herself slurring as she continued forwards and towards the woman. As much as she meant the words, however, she couldn’t find herself able to focus on the house anymore. Instead she was drawn to the woman and _her_ beauty like a moth to a flame.

The woman smiled, lifting a pale hand to cover her face, and a soft and delectable laugh floated across the room to Peridot. The sound blessed her ears, causing her to step mindlessly forwards all the more into the home.

“You are too kind,” the woman practically sung, her coy smile revealed as she slowly dropped her hand, coaxing Peridot the remaining way across the room.

As Peridot reached her the woman’s smiled changed. The softness faded away to something Peridot could not process. Could not care to process as the woman began to softly hum, grabbing at her chin with a soft pale hand.

Listening to her small little song was so amazingly pleasant that Peridot could think of nothing else. Not of the woozy way her head felt. Not of the slightly blurring vision of the world around her. She was too intoxicated in the most beautiful sound she had ever heard to care about anything else and she found herself being lead by the hand that grasped her chin towards one of the stair cases.

“Shall I wrap your ankle for you now?” The woman sang, the pitch and tone of her voice too beautiful for Peridot to make sense of.

She found herself nodding dumbly, unthinking and spellbound by the woman’s wonderful eyes and stunning voice.

She smiled loosely as the woman moved her hand downwards, grabbing with cold yet comforting hands to the collar of her shirt, practically floating up the stairs with Peridot in her calming grasp.

**

Peridot woke up, panting and sweaty, in her own home the next morning. She sat up quickly, as if pulled from a nightmare but found her head spinning and vision blurring into a bright white as she did so. She let out a panting breath as she laid back down, putting a hand over her head as she waited for her vision to return back to normal.

When the world stopped spinning and returned to its normal hues she pulled herself slowly from her bed, hands shaky and cold. She felt sticky and stingy, shockingly cold but sweating madly.

What had happened last night? She could not remember anything past entering the magnificent house. Yet as she thought back the dreary fogginess of her brain made it seem like perhaps it had been a dream all along.

Regardless a quick check of the time told her she was already late to work and she fumbled into the bathroom to get ready.

As she rushed to move she found her body not complying. She was dizzy, and found herself fumbling on her feet whenever she tried to move too fast. She felt exhausted; more so than usual and shockingly so considering she had slept in for an extra hour. As she washed her face in the bathroom her cold hands shocked her more than the splashes of water, strikingly colder than the air around her. She shook the water off of them quickly despite the unusual occurrence, too flustered to think on it.

She rushed out of the bathroom, startling Pumpkin as she slammed the bathroom door upon her exit and the dog barked in unwanted awakening as she jumped off the couch. Peridot didn’t have the mind to make sure the dog in question had food or water for the day or even say hello before she ran out of the house, jumping into her shoes as she rushed toward her car.

She drove in a hazy daze. The rush of the world around her making her dizzy, as if she was several beats behind her physical body as she drove. Everything moved in a fast blur, trees and homes moving so quickly past her she could hardly see. She shook off the feeling, trying her best to focus on the empty road ahead of her, blinking heavily to try and clear her vision. When she finally managed pulled into the parking lot of the tech supply and repair shop she worked at, almost an hour and a half late, she forced herself out as soon as she turned off the ignition, hopping to her feet so she could rush inside.

The fogginess in her head that followed was so startling she nearly blacked out.

Actually Peridot was not sure if she had blacked out or not. All she was sure of was the fact that she was suddenly being shaken softly by her boss, a lanky and pale woman by the name of Pearl.

“Peridot?” Peridot could hear her boss calling to her. But the blurry image in front of her and the noise that sounded somehow far away could not assure her exactly what was happening. She felt like she was in a dream, the world as distant and confusing as one.

“What?” She eventually managed to ask, the sight ahead of her finally straightening itself out as Peridot’s head stopped spinning. Pearl’s thin form finally began to focus in front of her eyes, her sharp features furrowed in concern above her.

“Are you okay?” Her boss asked, shrill voice raised impossibly high in worry. She held onto Peridot’s arms loosely, steadying her in her grip as she kneeled over where she lay on the cold pavement.

Peridot tried to pull herself up, pushing Pearl off of her so as to fumble on her shaky legs. Pearl followed suit, standing quickly and grabbing back onto Peridot’s upper body so as to steady her shaky, swaying legs.

“I’m okay,” Peridot managed to get out, rubbing at her eyes as she slowly managed to stand with Pearl’s help, “Just haven’t eaten anything,”

She shook Pearl off of her, fumbling backwards on unstable legs. She squinted at the taller woman, her pale skin and peachy blonde hair fading back to a pastel blur.

Yet through the blur Peridot could just make out Pearl staring, her eyebrows furrowed and her mouth pulled into a concerned little frown.

“Are you sure?” She asked, taking a few steps forward to once again grab onto Peridot’s upper arm, “You look terrible,”

Peridot stared blankly at Pearl for a few moments, processing the words slowly as she stared at pale blue eyes that finally came back into focus. When the phrase finally translated in her brain she took an insulated step backwards, furrowing her own brows and shaking Pearl off of her once again.

“That’s rude,” was all she managed to say.

Pearl’s face softened instantly and she once again took a step forward to close the gap between them.

“I didn’t mean it like that,” she spoke, voice lowered to a tone Peridot couldn’t read in her current state, “You’re so pale,” she hummed, placing a milky hand of her own atop Peridot’s freckled forehead.

As she spoke again she stepped to be on the right side of Peridot, wrapping an arm around her waist to steady her. “Are you feeling okay?” She asked, leading Peridot back to her car, opening the passenger seat where she carefully guided Peridot to sit.

Peridot stared at her dazed and confused, unsure of who exactly was touching her and where exactly she was going. She felt like a child and couldn’t find the words to respond to Pearl’s question.

“I’m gonna drive you home, okay?” Pearl asked, voice sweet and song like as she buckled the seat belt around Peridot for her.

“Don’t I have to work?” Was all Peridot asked, watching with lazy eyes as Pearl walked around the hood of the car to get into the driver’s seat.

Pearl gave her an awkward smile as she sat, taking the keys from Peridot’s hand.

“Today’s your day off,”

Peridot furrowed her brows, thinking furiously on that comment as Pearl began backing out of the parking spot.

**

Peridot’s arrival home was a confusing one to say the least. She thanked Pearl for driving her home as she fumbled up the driveway to her house, Pearl sending a concerned smile her way as she handed Peridot back her keys and began walking back the way they had come.

By then Peridot had managed to gain some control back over her swirling brain so she could stand and see properly but in regaining these cognitive functions she recognized the implied dangers of what was happening to her.

She must be terribly sick. Surely there was no other explanation for the woozy state she had so inexplicably entered. The exhaustion was too profound. The dizziness too dangerous to not mean something. The confusion a sign of horrible brain eating bacteria.

Peridot sighed at that last thought. Surely she wasn’t dying. She always got sick this time of year. Sure it was usually a head cold or the occasional spell of bronchitis but that’s what this had to be. Just stronger. Her head was woozy from mucus. She was tired from fighting whatever antigen she had contracted.

Peridot kissed Pumpkin as she fell into her bed shoes and all for a quick power nap, but as she laid staring at the fuzzy ceiling in the only slightly dim room she found her mind wandering back to the night before. The magnificent house that resided in the woods of the town. The woman in the purple velvet dress who had found her and invited her inside, voice sultry in a mesmerizing way. Her wonderful, beautiful blue eyes. Peridot couldn’t place if the events had been a dream or not.

She immediately thought it couldn’t have been merely a dream, the whole situation was far too vivid to have been a figment of her imagination. She had no knowledge on gothic mansions or fashions to imagine such a place and person and less an ability to create a voice so wonderful and intoxicating in her mind. Yet the stock halt in memory after the woman had lead her further into the house to wrap her ankle alluded to it being merely her imagination, her waking up ending the world she had invited abruptly.

Peridot frowned, trying to remember what exactly she had done the night before. Yet she was left empty headed and more exhausted than before.

**

Pumpkin woke Peridot up seemingly a few hours later. The small dog was whining to go out and licking her lips desperately. As Peridot let her out she found her food and water bowls both empty and she quickly made the dog dinner despite it being only two in the afternoon as she waited for her to come in.

The dog and herself ate in peace together. Peridot sitting with a foggy sense of dizziness while she ate dry cereal from the box, Pumpkin happily munching on a carefully crafted mixture of assorted dog foods across the room. The sound of mutual crunching filled Peridot’s brain, overwhelming in an odd way and forcing out any other thought she could begin to produce.

When Peridot finally forced herself to stand from the table she went about doing so slowly, her blacking out and falling over of earlier today still fresh and worrisome in her mind. She walked slowly to her bathroom, a new urge and desperate need for a bath overcoming her as she realized she could not recall the last time she had bathed. While she assumed it must have been yesterday the constant stream of sweat she had been producing all day made her feel sticky and gross.

She pulled herself into the tiny bathroom with an overwhelming feeling of exhaustion, her limbs like heavy weights on either side of her body. She striped of her clothes as she started the water, letting the articles fall to the ground as hot water steamed up around her. A shirt was thrown haphazardly on the floor, a bra hung awkwardly on the door handle. It was only when she tripped while trying to take her pants off did she realize she still had her sneakers tied tightly around her feet. She groaned as she sat on the end of the bathtub, the movement forced and painful as her body yelled at her to lay down. She sat dully on the edge and messed with her laces, eventually her left shoe came off, falling to the ground with a clatter, and Peridot was startled awake from her half asleep daze. The noise, unexpectedly loud forced her to look down at her feet, revealing an unexpected sight.

Her ankle was tightly wrapped in little white bandages so carefully crafted it was as if it had been done by a professional.

Her mind snapped back to the house in the woods instantly. By that point in the day she had reduced the events to a fever induced dream, wild and detailed only because she was terribly ill. Yet the neatly wrapped bandages that now adorned her person lead to the conclusion that the events did happen. She really had wandered into the woods the night prior. She really had fallen and twisted her ankle. She really had met the woman who resided in the elegant house.

Peridot slowly sank into the water, shaking from confusion and a swell of nerves. In her dazed and startled state she decided against unwrapping her ankle, wanting to sink into the water as quickly as possible and cut off her thoughts.

She furrowed her brows as the warm comfort of the water surrounded her but the soothing heat did little to make her feel better. Instead her thoughts picked up speed, seemingly edged on by the temperature. What had happened last night?

She rolled her ankle above the water, watching where droplets clung to the now sopping wrappings. As she moved it she noted to her astonishment that the action did not hurt her in the slightest. In fact her ankle was perhaps the part of her body feeling the most normal.

Peridot furrowed her brows as she leaned forward in the tub to grab at her ankle, rolling it carefully with her hand. Again, she felt no pain adding tenfold to the confusion she was plagued by.

Peridot eventually fell backwards to lay back down in the water, back landing against the old ceramic with a splash. She huffed in frustration as she fell, focusing on the added weight of wet bandages around her ankle.

Her mind was spinning, but this time the world did not spin with it. Instead she was left thinking furiously, tumbling over her thoughts as questions circled themselves in her head.

Had she really met the woman? Why couldn’t she remember what had happened after she had been lead into the house?

Peridot scoffed and she scrunched up her face as she sat back up, pulling her knees into her chest. The lack of clarity in the situation was endlessly frustrating. Why couldn’t she remember what had happened?

**

Peridot’s bath was far less relaxing than she had anticipated. She spent much of it questioning her sanity and frustratedly grumbling to herself at what little she knew.

When she eventually decided that she _must_ have been at the house in the woods the night before she had quickly gotten out of the tub, discarded the sopping bandages, dressed, and darted to her computer. The acceptance that she must have been at the house brought up a new and even more unclear question. What terrible illness did she have that caused the abrupt halt in memory?

She unlocked the well loved computer quickly, pulling up a search engine as she did. All her life she had had a terrible habit of looking up her symptoms when sick and concluding with an untamable certainty that the she would be dying in a matter of days. It took years of unnecessary panic to stop herself from doing so anymore but the jumbled and logic reduced state of her current mindset forced her to open her computer and she began typing a long list of her symptoms.

The first few results that were suggested were nothing helpful. Paranoid hypochondriacs like herself blogging about their various types of cancer and posting desperate messages asking for answers. It was towards the bottom of the page when Peridot finally found a reliable source. The website was some government funded one and when Peridot clicked the link it was revealed to be titled simply ‘symptoms of blood loss’. Peridot stared dully at the page for a few moments, heart rate spiking as she clicked to expanded a list of symptoms.

She read through the list in a daze, frantic and nervous, rushing down the list so quickly she had to double check what she was reading was correct. When she did she went back through it again, checking off symptoms on the list. Her heart hammered in her chest, hands shaking as she acknowledged she was experiencing almost every symptom.

The woman really was a vampire.

Peridot stood up quickly from her computer, head spinning as she did. She felt as if the world was crashing down around her as the thought repeated itself in her mind. Peridot shook her head violently as it did, surely that couldn’t be the case. Peridot didn’t believe in vampires.

But the thought continued to emphasize in her mind, becoming more of a definitive answer to Peridot by the second. She found herself laughing madly as she sat down on her bed with a bounce. She was going insane.

She forced herself through a deep breath, trying her best to push away the illogical thoughts to instead reason with herself. Vampires didn’t exist. It was just town a legend that she was remembering in the moment. The woman in question was the one that people claimed was a vampire and Peridot in her sickly daze was just feeding into the lure. While the lady was clearly odd and gothic that was all it was.

Peridot folded in on herself, laughing turning to frightened tears which turned into an exhaustion overwhelming and painful. She laid still, mind talking itself in circles as Pumpkin jumped around the foot of her bed barking with concern.

She let her mind settle from panic to dust, focusing on nothing but the pattern of her blanket. She traced the lines with her finger, watching as the shaky body part glided over soft fabric. She let herself be consumed with a sense of emptiness, ignoring the back of her mind which continued to yell at her in alarm.

She so desperately wanted to go back to bed.

But instead she stood up on legs that steadied for the first time all day, the empty dullness being replaced with a new set of feelings.

Something in her had switched and the panicked voice in her head was squashed entirely as she stared down at her ankle, rolling it over a few times.

Maybe she _was_ going crazy. Maybe she _was_ too sick to think straight. Whatever it was it didn’t matter because regardless of any of that she could figure out the truth.

She grabbed her sneakers from the bathroom and kicked them on, Pumpkin barking in excitement as Peridot grabbed her leash from the floor.

If the events she recalled had really happened last night the house would still be in the woods. The vampire in question was only a short walk away.

**

As Peridot left her house the overwhelming feeling of confidence had started to cease and flutter away. She locked the door to her tiny home with a quickened patter of her heart that forced her to acknowledge the possible dangers of what was ahead of her.

If this woman really was a vampire what would happen to Peridot? She would have her blood drunk again, surely. Perhaps enough to kill her. But her curiosity and frustration at not knowing lead her to turn the flash light she held tightly in her grip on, the beam of light illuminating the pale grey of the sidewalks ahead of her. Besides, Pumpkin had already began to pull and needed a walk anyway.

As they began to walk Peridot took deep breaths of the cold, calming air. It smelt of crisp leaves and rain, filling her with a sense of liveliness shockingly contrasting to the exhaustion she had felt all day. It was greatly comforting and Peridot took a moment to smile up at the full moon, only looking away when Pumpkin pulled at her extra hard, causing her to fumble over her feet.

Upon reaching the Main Street of the town Peridot refocused her thoughts. She needed a plan going into this. Surely she couldn’t just ask the woman if she was a vampire. That would be foolish and clearly wouldn’t result in a truthful answer. Somehow she needed to snoop around the house. Or open the woman’s mouth to look for fangs.

Peridot sighed at the impracticality of the situation at hand. She should have boughten garlic. Or a wooden stake.

Peridot huffed at the thought, shaking her head as Pumpkin barked happily at an elderly woman across the street from them. She doubted those things would do much to protect her against a real vampire. They were probably just legend, dated and skewed in a centuries long game of telephone.

She trudged on, realizing just how unprepared she really was. No plan, no thinking through, whatever illness she currently had. Still though, she walked with the corgi leading the way to the trees she could now see a block or so ahead of her. She needed to find out the truth. If she didn’t she would surely spend the next few days in a mad panic.

She gripped the flashlight tighter as they entered the narrow clearing in the woods, the air cold and unwelcoming as light slowly disappeared from overhead. Peridot made sure to watch the road beneath her as she walked, weary of suspicious piles of leaves and pot holes. Pumpkin lead the way, fumbling across the unpaved road with excited hops. Peridot carefully followed in her footsteps, watching where she tripped to side step the hidden holes of the road.

As she watched the excitable corgi hop along the path she felt the swell of confidence return to her chest, the familiarity of the road instilling a feeling of knowledge in her that allowed her to walk down the bumpy path with confidence. She no longer felt helplessly confused but fueled by curiosity. The panic at believing the woman could be a vampire thrown away to instead fill her with excitement. If she really was a vampire Peridot would prove it. She would somehow pay her back for leaving her in the dazed and dizzy state she had been in all day.

When they reached the clearing Peridot smiled widely, confidence swelling dramatically at the sight ahead of her. The house was just as she had remembered it, proud and triumphantly beckoning Peridot towards it.

She darted up the driveway, Pumpkin chasing her heels gleefully, and reached the heavy door. The deep wood, tall and confident, was adorned with a sparkling gold handle and lock shining in the lazy orange light that lit the cleaning. She knocked on the wood with a reverend confidence, three loud and heavy taps that echoed back to her from within the triumphant mansion.

The world faded to silence following Peridot’s knock. There was not even the comforting music of crickets to fill the emptiness. Just stark quiet that brought Peridot back to reality. Her heart rate spiked as she stared at the wood, the realization of what exactly she was doing hitting her hard.

Yet before she could turn to run and flee the stupid, dangerous situation she had put herself in the heavy door swung open, revealing the woman of the night before.

This time she was wearing a suit, tightly tailored to fit her form, black with elegant blue and gold detailing. The thin threads that stood out against the darkness of the remaining fabric and the dark blue that lined the collar matched her deep blue eyes marvelously, brining out the blue hue, changing them from the dull near black of the night before to a bright and shocking navy.

Peridot stood dumbly, making eye contact with her mind blank as the woman stared back at her. After a few moments of still silence the woman in the doorway laughed, covering her mouth as she did, the sound cheery like the ringing of bells.

“Miss me?” She asked with a smirk, eyes wide in pleasure and surprise as she stepped inwards and gestured for Peridot to follow.

Peridot did so, trying her straighten her thoughts and ignore the magnificent interior that she wanted to gawk over despite having been here just the night before. Yet as she forced her eyes from the lavish couches and sprawling bookshelves to look back at the woman she felt the confidence swell back up in her chest. The room was just as she had remembered it.

“I realized I never got to thank you for helping me with my ankle,” Peridot lied, staring into the ocean blue eyes that stared at her in pleasure as a heavy door swung closed.

The woman smiled, “It was no problem,” she hummed, the tune of her voice just as wonderful as Peridot had remembered. She found herself stepping towards it, wishing the woman in front of her would never stop speaking.

Yet as the woman stoped her small song Peridot blinked, breaking eye contact to look back around the house, snapping herself out of the trance the sound had put her in. She shook her head as she did, organizing her flustered mind and reminding herself that as much as she would like to listen to the woman that was not what she was here for. She had bigger matters to attend to.

“I never caught your name,” Peridot said, after a moment, thrusting a hand out to the pale woman who merely smirked, taking it in a warm grasp. As their hands interlocked Peridot tried to think of how to go about finding her answer, yet her thoughts were promptly cut off as the woman began to speak, locking eyes with Peridot.

“Lazuli,” the woman replied, shaking Peridot’s freckled hand softly with a smirking smile, “Lapis Lazuli,”

Peridot found herself smiling back despite herself, the ring of the name on the woman’s lips so perfect and fitting. It was as if the name had been chosen by some all knowing god for this woman to say with her song like voice.

“May I ask why you are here?” The woman asked, stepping backwards and further into the room. As she spoke the woman made eye contact with Peridot, the sight and sound turning whatever comprehensive part of Peridot’s brain was left to mush, any hope at obtaining information in a planned way floating away.

The woman took another carefully crafted step backwards towards the staircase on the right of the room, the soft click of a heel on wood floors announcing it. Peridot found herself following without thinking, entranced by the woman’s voice and eyes.

In her mindless state she found herself speaking dumbly; a simple question, spoken with childlike wonder, falling from her lips.

“Are you a vampire?” She asked, voice airy and eyes wide as she followed the woman further towards the stairs.

The woman smiled, wide eyed and surprised, laughing in response.

“Well, it would be no fun if I told you now, now would it?” The woman laughed, her voice sultry and sweet at the same time.

Peridot stared dumbly in response, squinting her eyes as she took another step forwards. The words flooded into her brain, causing a mild feeling of panic to spring up somewhere in her chest, but wouldn’t properly register. Something in her was telling her to run as she tried to fully understand what had been said to her.

Instead she whined pitifully, taking another step towards the woman only for her to grab at Peridot’s chin with a soft, pale hand.

“You’re pretty,” Peridot slurred her words, squinting her eyes as she looked up at the woman, who smiled devilishly down at her. It was the most beautiful thing Peridot had ever seen.

The woman laughed, “Thank you,”

With that she began to sing.

A wordless and fantastic song filled Peridot’s ears and left her love struck like she had never felt before. The sound was the most incredible noise she had ever heard and Peridot felt so incredibly blessed to be it’s recipient. The tune so astounding she could hardly believe it to be real. It made her want to weep tears of joy.

Somewhere in the back of Peridot’s mind she recognized that her head felt as foggy and jumbled as it had most of the day. She couldn’t quite see properly. Couldn’t think properly at all. However this time the groggy far away feeling of her mind was not scary or upsetting but incredibly, astonishingly pleasurable. She felt like she was floating.

She followed the woman who started up the stairs with a wicked smile, the tune of her song filling the room and lighting Peridot’s brain up with pleasure.

Eventually they reached the landing and the woman stopped her flowing song to grab onto Peridot’s hand, pulling her on wobbly feet into a room at the end of the hallway.

Inside Peridot briefly acknowledged that this was a bedroom, a large bed with pale blue blanketing that she was being lead to proving this fact to her. The woman placed her down on it as they reached it, carefully arranging Peridot to sit with a soft smile on the duvet.

“It was quite foolish of you to come back here,” the woman said as she sat down next to Peridot, brushing her messy blonde locks back with a hand, “Although I can’t say I’m complaining,” she laughed beside Peridot using her warm hands to position her head forward. Peridot let her, staring blankly at a large mirror ahead of her. In it she watched as the woman continued to pull her hair back, brushing it to the best of her ability away from the side of her head and to the back.

It didn’t take long for the woman’s hands to float to Peridot’s neck, another hummed tune filling the room. She traced the veins in Peridot’s neck with long nails, licking her lips as she did so.

Slowly she turned Peridot’s head back towards her so as to look at her once more, smiling widely at her. Peridot blinked, vision blurring over around the edges.

The woman laughed in response and for the first time that night she did not hide her smile behind a hand. In wake of doing so sharp fangs were revealed to Peridot, glistening in the back of her mouth.

Peridot gasped, the sight startling her and briefly registering in the back of her mind as something bad. Adrenaline flooded her system but she could not move her legs. She was frozen stiff, body relaxed but mind suddenly rushing with panic.

As the woman traced her chin with a long finger, however, the panic floated away. The touch of her warm skin soothing Peridot’s rushing mind and squishing down her thoughts. In their place numb comfort took hold and Peridot could focus on nothing but the path of the finger.

“Forget did you?” The woman mocked, her hearty smirk showing off the fangs all the more. She turned Peridot’s chin a small bit more towards her, gazing into glazed over green eyes, “And here I thought you were one of the smarter humans in this town,”

Peridot stared dumbly, the backhanded compliment not registering to her. Instead the words were reduced to their pitch and flow, soothing Peridot all the more.

In light of Peridot’s cool calm the woman twisted her head away from her again, leaning her own head down to the crook of Peridot’s neck where sharp teeth bit down into soft skin.

Peridot briefly registered the pain of the action. Her neck stinging with bright and hot hurt as fangs sunk into her flesh. But the feeling lasted no longer than it took for the woman to fully sink her teeth in, and once her lips made contact with Peridot’s neck she found herself feeling wholly calmed once more and as incredible as she had been when the woman had sung to her.

Peridot found her vision fading to black as the woman drank from her neck, the world slowly drifting away as seconds turned to minutes of the woman being latched onto her. Tired and exhausted she let herself shake, falling limp in the woman’s arms, who held her still as she continued drinking. An odd feeling of pure peace overcame her in light of the sensation, impossibly calm despite herself.

The world continued to fade; her vision reduced to nothing, her chest only providing her a small feeling of comfort to prove she was still alive.

Before she could pass out a single thought crossed her mind.

Vampire.

**Author's Note:**

> I really really enjoyed this! I hope you did as well! It was a lot of fun to write and I like how it turned out!  
> Thank you for reading! Let me know what you thought of it in a comment! Please!  
> Have a wonderful Halloween!!


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